Vbox7 moving on one direction

[Cnut]

My Vbox 7 is only moving my actuator one direction. I get an ERR2 message on the opposite direction. However, if I switch the power wires on the back it will move the opposite direction only, then the direction it was moving before I switched the power wires will give me an ERR2 message and will not move that way. Any ideas what this could be? Could I have a blown fuse or broken circuit inside the box? Any help would be great. Thank you
cpsp0

PS - I have a second Vbox 7 in the closet that does the same thing. I replaced it my the current one about a year ago and the new one worked fine until the last couple of days. I bought both boxes from the same seller on Ebay.

 

[armadillo_115]

So one wire works either way it is hooked up but the other wire doesn't? One of the actuator wires is broken?

 

[KE4EST]

Bad relay or cold solder joint. Bad driver transistor array chip also could be it.

 

[Cnut]

So one wire works either way it is hooked up but the other wire doesn't? One of the actuator wires is broken?

I doubt that I just installed new wires just out of the box less than a week ago.

 

[Cnut]

Bad relay or cold solder joint.

Could someone tell me what the relay would look like? Can I replace it? This has happened to two Vboxes in a row, see above, it would be nice if I could get them both fixed.

 

[scarecrovv]

had same thing happen once... turned out to be a shagged up limit switch. just a thought.

 

[KE4EST]

If you are handy with a soldering iron sure.

 

[FTA4PA]

Could someone tell me what the relay would look like? Can I replace it? This has happened to two Vboxes in a row, see above, it would be nice if I could get them both fixed.

Here is a link to a pic from another thread: http://www.satelliteguys.us/xen/attachments/vbox4-jpg.108241/
The relays are the two black square boxes that say SuperJack on them. The writing on yours may be different or they may be a different color but they will look similar to the ones in the pic.

 

[FTA4PA]

KE4EST just beat me to it!

 

[Cnut]

KE4EST just beat me to it!

Thanks for all the help.

Do you relays need to be replaced or just check for a bad soder?

 

[KE4EST]

Thanks for all the help.

Do you relays need to be replaced or just check for a bad soder?

Well they should last longer than a year, but anything can happen on a cheap build these days.
Pull the board and look it over good. You can also pull the relay out of the circuit and apply power and see if it actuates, by applying power from a bench supply or battery. If so you know it is something else in the circuit.

 

[FTA4PA]

If you find you need to replace the relay or another part, a couple of good sources for parts are Mouser Electronics and Digikey. They are both hobbyist friendly.

 

[Cnut]

I took the board out and turned it over, all the solder points look good. I'm stumped.

 

[Titanium]

The relay failure is very common on the Vbox and Gbox products.

With a voltage tester, check and map the the good relay solder points on the bottom of the PCB when driving the dish. When the panel button is pressed you should observe low dc voltage appear on one solder point and a high dc voltage (32-36V) on another (motor drive voltage). Release the panel button and the high and low dc voltages will go away on these two solder points. High voltage should remain present on another solder point (the supply voltage).

Now check the same solder points on the suspect relay. Without pressing the other direction front panel button, the supply voltage solder point should show high dc voltage. Touch the meter probe to the low voltage solder point and press the front panel button that errors. A momentary low voltage should appear before the error message is displayed on the front panel. If no low DC voltage is momentarily displayed, the voltage is not being triggered before reaching the relay and might be a bad button or other component in the trigger circuit.

Clear the error and touch the probe to the motor supply voltage solder point and press the same front panel button. A momentary high dc voltage should appear before the error message is displayed on the front panel. If no momentary high DC voltage is displayed, the relay is defective.

 

[Cnut]

The relay failure is very common on the Vbox and Gbox products.

With a voltage tester, check and map the the good relay solder points on the bottom of the PCB when driving the dish. When the panel button is pressed you should observe low dc voltage appear on one solder point and a high dc voltage (32-36V) on another (motor drive voltage). Release the panel button and the high and low dc voltages will go away on these two solder points. High voltage should remain present on another solder point (the supply voltage).

Now check the same solder points on the suspect relay. Without pressing the other direction front panel button, the supply voltage solder point should show high dc voltage. Touch the meter probe to the low voltage solder point and press the front panel button that errors. A momentary low voltage should appear before the error message is displayed on the front panel. If no low DC voltage is momentarily displayed, the voltage is not being triggered before reaching the relay and might be a bad button or other component in the trigger circuit.

Clear the error and touch the probe to the motor supply voltage solder point and press the same front panel button. A momentary high dc voltage should appear before the error message is displayed on the front panel. If no momentary high DC voltage is displayed, the relay is defective.

Thank you Brian, I will check this. Got to get a battery for my multimeter and then I will check following your instructions. By they way, I bought a new C/KU LNBF from your Ebay store on Monday, I can't wait for it to get here! I have one of your Cband PLL LNBFs and it works GREAT!

 

[beavs2112]

My Vbox 7 is only moving my actuator one direction. I get an ERR2 message on the opposite direction. However, if I switch the power wires on the back it will move the opposite direction only, then the direction it was moving before I switched the power wires will give me an ERR2 message and will not move that way. Any ideas what this could be? Could I have a blown fuse or broken circuit inside the box? Any help would be great. Thank you
cpsp0

PS - I have a second Vbox 7 in the closet that does the same thing. I replaced it my the current one about a year ago and the new one worked fine until the last couple of days. I bought both boxes from the same seller on Ebay.

It sounds like a bad actuator to me. If its a cheap superjack check the dc motor brushes. Their cheap copper braid wire is notorious for breaking off at the brush.

 

[Cnut]

It sounds like a bad actuator to me. If its a cheap superjack check the dc motor brushes. Their cheap copper braid wire is notorious for breaking off at the brush.

I've checked it with two different actuators one brand new out of the box and the same thing happens.

 

[KE4EST]

It sounds like a bad actuator to me. If its a cheap superjack check the dc motor brushes. Their cheap copper braid wire is notorious for breaking off at the brush.

Unlikely in this case, as the OP reverses the wires and the dish moves in the other direction.